Drive assembly



Oct. ll, 1938.`

cs. R. BLANCHARDv DRIVE AS SEMBLY F11-ed Nov. 25, 195e f 35i tion of the structure shownk in Fig. `1.

Patented oet. 11, 193s UNIT-ED STATES PATENT QFFIC.`

fDRIvE'AssEMLY a George' Blanchard, Chicago,' Ill. Application provenire;L 25, 1936*,seria1 No. 112,659 ,if i claims. k,(01. eri-3o) 'I'he invention relatesr generally'tov a; drive assembly andmore particularly to ast'ructure for supporting and rotatably drivinga pan or the like. Y 5: The general object of theinvention is-to provide a combined drive and support for rotating a relatively wide pan at a moderate speed, andi which holds the pan steady during rotation and permits the pan to be stopped at will without l stopping the driving means and without placing' an undue load on the drivingV meanswhen the` pan is held against rotation. la Y: Another objectis to provide, in a drive ofthe foregoing character, a'connection between the source of power and the pan, which is Aof inex-v pensive but rugged construction and which *may` be readily assembled in a relation fully capable of withstanding theA stresses to which it is1subjected. l It is also an object to provide a drive including a bearing of the rolling element type normally serving to provide a driving connection between the driving and drivenmembers but having a rolling action when the driven member is held 25. against rotation.

` A further object is to provide a novel method of assembling a drive ofthe foregoing character.` Other objects and advantages will'becomejapparentV from the following description! taken in connection with the accompanying drawinQn which: y Y Figure 1 is an elevational view of a ,structurev embodying the features jof the inventionf Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sec-i 1 Structure embodying the present invention` is designed especially for rotating andsupporting a vrelatively large pan forV use in the retail display of food products such as nut meats. In such use,

0f the pan may have a plurality of divisionsffor different kinds of .nut meats and may be VrotatedV to attract attention thereto ancltofbringl the various divisions to an accessible position. The pan thus compactly holds the nutmeatsgand prominently displays them bysuccessively bring-` ing the various divisions to attention. When some ofthe nut meats are to beremoved from the pan, it it desirable to so Varrange thedrive structure that the rotation of the pan may be 501* quickly stopped 'without stopping the,` driving"- means. ,The drive structure must, lunder'such conditions, be such that no excessive load is placed on the driving means when the pan' is stopped.r It

, is also desirable to provide a drive structure which is inexpensive-but rugged. f Y

To fulll these ends, the invention comprises generally a base structure which carries a shaft drivenrfrom a suitable source of power. A driven member is `mounted on the shaft by a. novel method of assembly with a bearing interposedy 5' therebetween. The driven member is shaped to coact with a member secured to the panfor the purpose of driving the pan, of supporting the weight thereof, of properly centering the pan and, at the same time, permitting the pan to be 10i readilyL removed. The above-mentioned bearing is preloaded by placing a squeezing pressure thereon to the end that the driven member and drive shaft normally rotate together. However,

when the pan is `held against rotation to permit 1liy theremoval of nut meats, the bearing, which is preferably of therolling element type, permits the `driven member to be stopped while the drivingvpmember continues to rotate without placing an undue `load on the source'of power.

As shown in the drawing, the pan is indicated at I0, and the fixed base structure is indicated generally at I I. 'I'he base structure in the presmember I 2lby bolts I1 extending downwardly 35; through the top member I2 and the brackets I6,

the bolts YI'l being provided with knurled nuts I8. To cushion the support, rubber grommets I9 surround thebolts I1 and are vinterposed between the brackets and the top member.

Extending upwardly from the gearing unit I4 is a rotary driveshaft 20 which supports the pan II) and by which the pan is driven. As mentioned above, the principal feature of the invention is to so support the pan that it will normally be 45 rotated by the rshaft 20 but may be held against rotationtherewith without placing an undue load onthe motor I3. To thisend, a bearing of the rollingl element type is mounted. upon the drive shaft 20 adjacent but spacedfrom the upper end 50 suchv as` fiber disks 32.

Cooperating with the drive shaft and bearing is a driven member 24'having a central bore 25 fitting over the end of the shaft 20. Within the bore and bearing against the end of the shaft is a thrust element comprising in the present instance a ball 2S, the end of the shaft and the driving member being recessed to hold the-ball in place. The driven member 24' is of cup-like form to provide an annular portion 21 adapted to encircle the outer race 22.

In order that the driven member may normalrotate with the shaft 20, the annular portion 2'.=' is so dimensioned as to preload or produce a squeezing pressure on the bearing. In assembling the annular portion on the outer racev 22,.,

en member when free is rotated by the drive shaft but may be heldagainst rotation Without danger of harming the motor by placing an `overload thereon.

The driven member 2'4 is adapted to becon-V nected tothe panrli), the connection being such that the pan Ii) may be readily removed for cleaning. To this end the driven member 24 .isV

provided with an *upwardly extending centralV ,y stem 28 upon which is mounted a socket memberr 3B adapted to be attached to the pan. The

socket member is removed from the stem2'8 merely by a vertical lifting movement andwh'en in place has its lowerend seated'on the .driven member 24. The friction between the driven member 24 'and the socket member is such, when the pan is loaded'with nut meats, that no relative rotation will occur betweenthe Vsocket Vmember and driven member. v

The pan is 'preferably of the porcelain enamel type, Vand to provide a rigid connection between the socket member 30 andthe pan such'thatthe pan cannot be unduly flexed, a supporting plate 3l is mounted over the upper faceof the socket' member with cushioning means therebetweenY Th'e supporting plate 3i is preferably ofrelatively large Ydiameter and'isr flanged at its periphery as at-3,'the ange `bear'- ing against the bottom ofthe pan I i] adjacenttheV To hold the pan against'the' Viiange'33and also toy hold it in` a central'posi-Y tion, a bolt fi'extends downwardly throughgthevl bottom of the pan and is'threaded into thesock--f et Amember 3B, a metaldisk 35Y and a cushioningi'lberdisk 36 being Vplacedbetween the head of; the bolt 34 and the bottom of the pan.V Thus the pan 'is drawn downwardly atits center so that v it is firmly seated on the flange 33`of the supporting member 3|.v A pan of suchlarge diam'- eter as this pan is usually formed with its-betv tom slightly raised in the center in aconical" manner to avoid warpage during the enamelingperiphery thereof.

operation. The downwardpressure of the ybolt 3ll tends to eliminate the conical form and to bring thebottom to altruly flat form= v In using the device, when the motor is running, the drive shaft normailycausesrthe driven ing an undue load on the driving means.

sired to stop the pan to remove nut meatsl therefrom, the periphery may be grasped and the pan thereby held. `At such time the balls 23 serve their function of rolling elements to prevent an undue load being placed upon the motor I3. When it is desired to again start the rotation of the pan, it is merely released and the driven member 24 again 4rotates with the shaft 20.

From the above, it will be evident that I have provided a combined drive and support for rotating a relativelyk wide pan and at thesame time permitting it to be stopped at will, with the driving means continuing to rotate and without plac- The construction is inexpensive but rugged, and may be readilyk assembled, the pan being removable so that it may be cleaned without necessitating readjustment of the drive mechanism. It will also be evident that I have provided a novel ing a vertical drive shaft, a ballbearing having` an innery race rigidly secured on-said shaft and anY outer race, a driven member having a central bore to receive the end of said shaft, and a thrust element located within said fbore, said driven member having an .annularl portion exerting a squeezing pressure` on said outer. race whereby said races normally rotate together, the bearing: having a rolling action whenthe driven member" is held against rotation. u

3. A drive for rotatinganid supporting .a pan or the like/on a verticalaXis comprising, in combination, a vertical'drive shaft, means. for supporting and for rotating lsaidA shaft,f a bearing of the rolling element type mounted onbut spaced from the upper end of said shaft and including an outer race, a drivenv member Yhaving a bore' for receiving the end of said shaft, a thrust element located within said bore and bearing against said shaft, said driven member including meansY secured to said outer race to place the same underY compression to hold the rolling elements 'therein under pressure, said rolling"elements normally notv rolling to cause said driven memberV to' beV driven by said shaft vbut being adapted to havea roliing action when the driven member is' held against rotation, and means for mounting'the pan on said driven member.'

4. A drive for rotating and' supporting a pan' or the like on a vertical axis'comprising in combination, va vertical shaft, a driven member permanently'mounted overfthe'upp'er end of said shaft, a bearing of the rolling element type interposed between Vsaid driven member-and said shaftA with the roll elements held under' radial inward pressurenormally to cause' said rdriven member' and said shaft to rotate together,` said elements having a rolling action when'the driven member is held. against rotation,.and means Vdetachably mounted upon saidrdriven rmemberfor supporting the pan.

5. In Na device .of the character described, a,Y

base, driving mechanism'supported by said base and including a .vertical drivefshaft. a.z driven member, a thrust element interposed between the upper end of said shaft and said driven member providing vertical support Vfor said driven member, and means located in a plane below the upper end of said shaft and interposed between said shaft and said driven member to providerlateral support for said member to hold it against tipping, said means normally serving as a driving Y connection between said shaft and said driven member butA being adapted'to permit the driven member to be held against rotation without plac- Y ing an excessive load on said shaft. i

6. In a device of the character described, the

combination of a rotary drive mechanism includ- `ing a vertically extending rotating stem, a relativelywide pan supported and driven by said stem, a supporting plate for said pan having a peripheral upstandingange upon which the pan is seated adjacent the peripheryVV of the pan, a socket member located centrally of said plate and bearing race encircling the first mentioned race, roller elements between said races, and means to be driven by said shaft including a member encircling said outer race and exerting radial` in- Ward pressure to place said roller elements under compression sufficient to hold the races normally against relative movement but permitting rolling action of said elements and relative movement between the races when said means is held against y movement` with said shaft.

GEORGE R. BLANCHARD. 20 

